Amazing Benefits of Bitter Gourd For Health, Skin and Hair That You Didn’t Know!

by Prajwal TS ·
Published November 14, 2016
· Updated November 2, 2017

Have you come across the term MomordicaCharantia? Or something like Karela? Don’t be intimidated. They are just few of the names for Bitter Melon, that is generally known as Bitter Squash or Bitter Gourd in English. The very thing that strikes you when you hear these terms is the bitterness they are associated with. They are light or dark green based on the areas they are cultivated. Though this vegetable has got a very bitter taste, it is enriched with a lot of essential vitamins and useful antioxidants.

The Bitter gourd is known as Kakaraya in Telugu, Pavakka in Malayalam, Pavakkai in Tamil, Hagalkai in Kannada, Karle in Marathi, Korola in Bengali, and Karela in both Hindi and Gujarati. Just like the diversity in names, the benefits of bitter gourd are diverse and various as well. This vegetable can be consumed in many ways. You can make various recipes out of it. You can make pickle out of it or you can even make juice out of it. I know your face gets twisted just thinking about eating or drinking Bitter Gourd. But, do you know how very helpful it can be? I’ll list the benefits of bitter gourd down. Read on!

Health Benefits of Bitter Gourd

1. Respiratory Problems

The Bitter Gourds are a great remedy if you are looking to cure respiratory disorders such as cold, cough, asthma and many more. You can make a paste using bitter gourd leaves, with the tulsi leaves paste and mix it with honey. Consume this recipe every morning and you will be keeping away a lot of respiratory problems.

2. It’s Good For Liver

Liver is one of the most essential organs of our body. These days, liver disorders are on the rise. You can do your bit in keeping your liver healthy by using bitter gourd. Make a glass of bitter gourd juice. Drink the juice everyday to avoid liver problems and even heal liver problems. Continue consuming this juice on a regular basis and you can see the results in two weeks.

3. Keeps Your Immune System Healthy

Immunity system in a body must be really strong. It is because the immunity system is what fights against the foreign bodies in your blood stream and protects you from facing harm. If your immunity system is strong, you can stay void of health disorders that foreign bodies carry. Boil the bitter gourd vegetables or leaves in water until the nutrients are extracted. Drink the water frequently everyday and your immune system will gain the ability to fight against many infections.

4. A Good Fighter Against Acne

Pimples or acneis one skin problem that bothers most of us a lot. Besides, the marks they leave behind are quite embarrassing. However, by consuming bitter gourd, you can effectively get rid of this problem. Bitter gourd also fights against blemishes as well as intense skin infections. The vegetable is also helpful in healing blood disorders such as scabies, blood boils, psoriasis, itching, ring worm and many other fungal problems. The free radicals present in bitter gourd is also helpful in anti ageing. Drink the bitter gourd juice blended with lemon with an empty stomach everyday for around six months and you will see results.

5. Good For Diabetic People

Are you suffering from Diabetes? Then try this! Bitter gourd juice helps you in overcoming the Type 2 Diabetes. Bitter gourd has been included as a vital ingredient in both Indian and Chinese medicine for a long period now but it is the recent studies that has proved bitter gourd for diabetes is not just a folk lore. You must know that the Type 2 Diabetes occurs partially when your cell is unable to absorb the sugar content present in the blood that is either a result of lack of insulin or resistance towards insulin. Whatever the case maybe, cells will not be able to absorb sugar content since there is no effectiveness in the produced insulin.

Sugar absorption happens when the AMP activated protein kinase gets activated in your cells. Bitter melon can effectively activate the kinases and as a result the sugar absorption in cells increases. This will in turn get diabetes under regulation. You can prepare green juice if you are diabetic. The recipe is quite simple. Green apples, celery, cucumbers, green capsicum and bitter gourd must be made into the juice. Bitter gourd has got some chemicals which are like insulin and that will help in decreasing the sugar levels in your blood.

6. Constipation Can Be Cured

Constipation is directly related to our digestive system and we know how agonizing it is. Bitter gourd aids in easy and smooth digestion since it had got fibrous properties. As a result, the food gets digested well, and the waste gets excreted from the body. This will aid in curing indigestion as well as constipation issues.

7. Bladder and Kidney Are Helped As Well

Kidney and bladder take care of the purification of blood. Kidney and bladder stones can be very excruciating if occurred. Bitter gourd aids in having healthy kidney and bladder. Besides, they are a great cure for kidney stones or bladder stones.

8. Heart Related Problems

These days, heart related disorders are on the rise and they are one of the important causes of deaths worldwide. Maintaining good health of the heart is the need of the hour. Bitter gourd is extremely good for your heart in ways unknown to you. It can help in reducing the levels of bad cholesterol that may have clogged up in the walls of your artery. This will decrease the risks of getting a heart attack. Besides, bitter gourd is also said to decrease the sugar levels in your blood which aids in keeping your heart’s health well.

9. Cancer

Cancer, too, is one among the top causes for death worldwide every year. Though there hasn’t been a concrete solution to this demonic disease, there are ways in which they can be prevented. Would you believe if I said bitter gourd is one such way? Well, you’ve got to! Bitter melon has the ability of avoiding the multiplication of cancer cells.

10. Effective in Weight Loss

Obesity is another health problem that causes frustration and pain among many. Losing weight becomes a primary concern for those who are suffering from the problem. Bitter gourd has got antioxidants that are effective in flushing out your digestive system. This can in turn improvise your digestive system and metabolism, thereby aiding you in putting off your weight quickly. Two more important factors which help you in losing weight are the components in the vegetable that makes you feel full, and the calorie control property. Control in the calories happens since vegetables are having less calories which will make you consume more of them. The component that is filling in bitter gourd is water. We all know that water is a great suppressant when you feel hungry. The pods in bitter gourd have got around 85 percent of water which will do the job for you!

11. Naturally Energizes You

If you consume the bitter melon juice regularly, you will see improvement in your stamina. Your energy levels improve as an individual. Besides, bitter gourd is good at improvising your sleep patterns as well.

12. Cleanses Your Blood

Bitter gourd has got antioxidant and antimicrobial properties which will help you in treating skin disorders, blood related problems, and cleanse toxins out of your blood and help in its purification. Further, bitter gourd juice also enhances blood circulation in the whole of your body. It aids in curing problems such as itching as a result of toxaemia, acne, rashes, blood boils and even avoids the growth of cancer cells in your body.

13. Skin Health Advantages With Bitter Gourd

The entire thing about how your skin appears is mostly dependent on what you eat, drink, or send inside the body. To put it in a better way, gaining right amounts of nutrition is the requisite for a damage free, healthy skin. Since bitter gourd is a blood purifier by nature, bitter gourd aids in enhancing the look of the skin on your body. Bitter gourd has got these benefits for skin health!

14. Avoids Skin Disorders

If you consume bitter gourd on a regular basis, you are basically helping your skin to keep glowing and avoid blemishes. As mentioned earlier, the properties of blood purification helps avoid acne from surfacing on your skin.

15. Fights Skin Infection

Bitter gourd helps in treating many skin infections or skin diseases such as eczema or rashes. If you drink bitter gourd juice regularly, you will be fighting back a lot of fungal infections such as athlete’s foot or ringworm.

16. Keeps You From Looking Aged

Bitter gourd has got vitamin C, and that is a strong antioxidant. Since it indulges in fighting as well as eliminating dangerous free radicals, bitter gourd aids in avoiding wrinkles on your skin by reducing the pace of ageing process in your body. Besides, bitter gourd also avoids skin from getting damaged due to ultraviolet rays.

17. Has Got Healing Properties

Bitter melon helps in regulating the clotting and blood flow, which will only result in wounds healing sooner, avoiding further problems and infections.

18. Hair Health Advantages With Bitter Melon

Bitter melon is a very good natural remedy if you want good and healthy hair. Though it is already doing a lot of good to your health and skin, it doesn’t just stop there. Bitter melon juice is very effective when it comes to treating hair related problems. Besides, it also boosts longevity. Here are the ways in which bitter gourd is helpful for your hair!

19. Shiny and Silky Hair

Silky shiny hair is a dream of many. If you want to give a natural shine and smoothness to your hair, you could blend a bowl of bitter melon juice along with yoghurt and use it for application on hair. Rinse off after a while. This can potentially make your hair look shiny and silky.

20. Gets Rid of Dandruff

Dandruff is one general problem which many of us face. It is mostly the result of intake of unhealthy food supplements and over exposure to pollution. To get rid of dandruff, you could prepare yourself a hair pack by blending cumin seeds with bitter melon juice. If you use this hair pack frequently, you will eliminate all the dandruff from your head in just a month.

21. Treats Split Ends

Are you troubled due to split ends? Worry not! You could put raw bitter melon extracts onto the split ends and gently comb. This must be done two times in a week to rid yourselves from split ends.

22. Cures Itchy Dry Scalp

To fight the dryness and itchiness of your scalp, you could rub the scalp using a fresh cut piece of bitter melon in circular motions, massaging them. Or you could also prepare yourself a hair pack by blending bitter melon juice either with banana or avocado, and later smear it on the scalp. Do it twice in a week and you will be free from itchy dry scalp.

23. Combats Hair Loss

Bitter melon juice aids in regulating the hair fall, and it does so quite naturally. You just have to blend bitter melon juice along with a spoon of sugar and later use the paste upon the hair to obtain better results.

24. Tangled and Rough Hair Are Eliminated

Do you have tangled rough hair? Just pour a bowl of bitter melon juice on your hair and let it soak for about fifteen minutes. Later wash off the hair. This can help you smoothen the texture of your hair, again making it shiny and soft.

25. Treats Grey Hair

Bitter melon can treat premature hair graying as well. Put some freshly extracted bitter melon juice on the strands of your grey hair. If you do this once in a week, the grey hair growth will be reduced.

26. Treats Oily Hair Too

When you consume more and more oily food, you will only be causing excess oil accumulation in the hair region. Are you one among those with oily hair? To begin with, control the intake of too much oily food. You could put a blend of bitter melon juice as well as vinegar and apple cider to get rid of extra oil from the hair.

Cautions for Usage

Though bitter gourd is a healthy drink, it must taken in only in little quantities each day since the drink might cause abdominal pains and nausea when consumed in large quantities. Pregnant ladies must refrain from drinking excessive bitter melon juice since it had properties that stimulates the uterus, resulting in premature labor agonies. Though it is considered as a good remedy in treatment of diabetes, you must consume this drink upon doctor’s guidance and directions if you are a diabetic patient who’s under medication that has hypoglycemic drugs.

Few essential tips to follow

Wash bitter gourd thoroughly with running water always

Make use of fresh bitter gourd for best of the results

Always go for bitter melons which are bright, fresh and deeply green in color

The leaves of bitter gourd must be stored in a dry,cool and a dark place. They can stay fresh in the fridge for a week

You can marinade bitter gourd using salt to decrease bitterness

Conclusion

I know Bitter gourd is very bitter. Personally, even I never liked Bitter gourd given its taste. However, when I learnt about the amazing benefits of bitter gourd, I thought the better. After all, our health is what matters the most. So what if it is bitter, consume it and avail all the great benefits of bitter gourd has got to give you. Stay sweet, stay healthy!

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